>> We are all suiting ourselves. Anyone's notion of vihuela is legitimate, >> regardless of the fact that it is based on wishful thinking, given the >> "profusion" of tangible vihuela evidence. Some of this wishful thinking is >> exceptionally good when translated into lutherie, Cezar Mateus' for example. >> I haven't heard Sasha Batov's vihuelas yet, but I am looking forward to a >> possibility. >> In short, "vihuela" is fair game, like in an old joke about an Armenian and >> his purple horse. Asked how come his horse was purple, the Armenian >> answered: "It is mine, and I paint it any color I choose." >> RT > I emailed Alexander Batov about the Russian guitar a while ago and in his > reply he talked about 'the Russian guitar and its culture'. I was intrigued by > the addition of 'and its culture'. > Looking for a difference between the viola/vihuela and the guitar purely in > constructional terms misses out the difference between the the vihuela and its > (rather elevated) culture and repertoire and that of the guitar. A valid point. But it doesn't help the issue, given the absence of guitar culture that would be contemporaneous with the self-evident vihuela's culture. There is just too little ascribed to guitar to constitute a culture for another 100 years. The word marginal comes too mind.... RT
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